Sailor Moon and the Arcanas
by Venussail
Summary: Two years after the defeat of Chaos, Usagi, Ami, Rei, Makoto, and Minako are in their last year of high school, studying hard to be able to get into the best universities. However, an evil puppet master plans to use Arcanas, higher beings under God, to take over the world. It's time for both the Inner and Outer senshi to snap out of break time and defeat this new enemy!
1. Chapter 1: Bhanri, the Arcana of Thunder

A/N: I'm baaaaaaack! Your favorite infrequent author has returned after over two years without writing anything- and with an action fic, no less! In honor of the new anime, I've decided to take another crack at writing a _Sailor Moon_ action fic. Now, before moving on to the story, there are a few things I want to clear up, some in reference to this story and others in reference to my other works. In regards to my other _Sailor Moon_ action fic, it is on a permanent hiatus. It may have been my first story, but I must say I am very displeased with where it was going (it was sloppy, quite frankly) and there is a LOT I'd change about what is there already. As for my _Inuyasha_ romance… that's a doozy. I would LOVE to complete it and I know a lot of you who are fans of my work love that story, but… I want it to be perfect. Until I can make the last chapter (not including the epilogue) as close to perfect as possible, I won't be posting it. Don't give up hope, though, please! I'm positive that despite all the broken promises and setbacks, it WILL be completed one day. Finally, just a few things about this story:

Thunder and lightning will be used interchangeably when it comes to attacks, as is done within the anime/manga.

The Arcanas featured in this fic are taken from the fighting game series, _Arcana Heart_. The abilities they have are both in game ones and ones I came up with on my own. Since that is the only element taken from something else, I did not feel the need to mark this as a crossover fic.

The setting for this is about two years after the final story arc of the anime/manga and Usagi's group is in Grade III (i.e. the last year of high school, equivalent to 12th grade in the States).

The characters and their powers (not counting any given to them in the fic) are based off the anime, not the manga.

Yes, I am omitting honorifics for the sake of making things easier on myself :P

Now, FINALLY, on with the fic (Did anyone actually read all that in its entirety?)!

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to _Sailor Moon_ nor do I own the rights to the Arcanas taken from _Arcana Heart_.

Chapter 1: Bhanri, the Arcana of Thunder

"…. And that is how one achieves enlightenment, theoretically speaking," finished Ami.

Usagi, Ami, Rei, Makoto, and Minako were busy reviewing the class discussion for the week at the Hikawa Shrine, as usual. Well, Ami, Rei, and Makoto were at least. Minako, on the other hand, was inconspicuously reading manga tucked inside her philosophy book and Usagi was dozing off. Of course, this did not go unnoticed by Rei.

"USAGI! MINAKO!" the Shinto priestess shouted.

"ACK!" the blondes screamed, startled.

Makoto sighed. "Really, you two? You're struggling the most in philosophy class and you're just dozing off and reading manga instead of listening to Ami's review of the week's materials."

"This is our final year of high school. It is important to get good grades so we can be accepted into the best universities," Ami chimed in.

"But the rain makes me so sleepy…." Usagi grumbled.

Suddenly, a boom of thunder along with a flash of lightning that illuminated the outside struck. The future queen screeched in fear as she jumped out of her seat and proceeded to cling to Rei.

"At least that woke you up," the raven-haired girl sneered. Usagi glared in response.

"Hm… there's something about the storms we've had lately that makes me nervous…" Luna said.

"Nervous? Why?" Minako asked.

"Like a bad omen, right, Luna?" The black cat nodded in response.

"Have you had any visions lately, Rei?" Makoto questioned.

Rei bit her lip in worry. "A couple, but they haven't been clear. They're even more confusing than the ones I had for the Death Busters. All I can make out is what looks like a puppeteer pulling on the strings of various marionettes and the Earth getting attacked by gigantic beings with immense power."

"We should keep an eye on this storm then. It may be the sign of a new enemy. Let's be on the lookout for any suspicious activity," Artemis said.

The room nodded in agreement.

\- The Following Day-

The walk to school was turning out to be a tedious one. Not only was there a wicked storm going on, Usagi in her fearful state kept having mini break downs every time thunder boomed or lightning flashed. The fact that the occurrences were becoming more frequent by the second wasn't helping matters either. As Ami and Makoto were trying to calm the pigtailed blonde down from her most recent panic attack, Rei felt an evil energy nearby. She looked to her left, surveying the area she felt the presence coming from.

"What's wrong, Rei?" Minako asked.

"Something-" she started to respod, before being cut off by a gigantic bolt of lightning striking the ground in the center of the plaza she had just been staring at, effectively blinding her temporarily.

When she and the others regained their vision, their eyes were met with a large, powerful looking female figure. The creature was completely electric blue in color, with a long, layered matching blue dress and sword-like appendages also in the same color. On her head, she had on what looked like an extravagant helmet and in her right hand she had a heavy-looking giant shield With electricity in her eyes, she looked directly at the untransformed sailor soldiers.

"I… think now might be a good idea to transform," Minako said. "VENUS CRYSTAL POWER, MAKE-UP!"

"MARS CRYSTAL POWER, MAKE-UP!"

"JUPITER CRYSTAL POWER, MAKE-UP!"

"MERCURY CRYTAL POWER, MAKE-UP!"

"MOON ETERNAL, MAKE-UP!"

Pillars of lightning were destroying the plaza, when….

"Stop right there!"

The monster looked towards the direction of the voice.

"Lightning is scary enough without you making it worse by hurting innocents and wrecking the city! For love, justice, and my own nerves, a pretty soldier in a sailor suit, Sailor Moon! In the name of the Moon, I shall punish you!"

The monster eyed them before smirking and conjuring a sword made completely out of lightning. She pointed it towards the senshi and fired a large bolt of lightning at them. Although the attack was extremely fast, they somehow managed to dodge it.

"Mars- Flame Sniper!"

The monster quickly moved her shield to block the attack. She then proceeded to charge at the Senshi of Fire at blistering speed.

"Jupiter- Oak Evolution!"

Unfortunately, Sailor Jupiter's attack was blocked as well. With nothing to halt her approach, the creature continued charging and swiped at Sailor Mars. Sailor Mars managed to dodge, but when she was swiped at again, she got hit with what felt like a lightning bolt trying to cut her in half. She fell to ground in pain.

"Sailor Mars!" the group gasped.

The war-themed monster took to the skies and proceeded to strike lightning bolts down at her enemies one after another in quick succession. The remaining senshi moved frantically to dodge all of them, but to no avail. Each of them fell prey to the sting of the highly concentrated electricity.

"Gah, what are we supposed to do?" Makoto grunted in frustration.

Before anyone could even respond, they were dodging another round of lightning bolts. Luckily, this time they managed to dodge all of them. Sailor Mercury took the opportunity to turn her visor on and pull her mini super computer out. However, she didn't get to do much analyzing as a bolt of lightning suddenly came from the sky to strike her, knocking her back and making her drop her device.

Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus rushed over to her to see if she was ok. She was, but only barely. Sailor Jupiter tossed her computer back to her.

"You keep analyzing to see if you can find any weak points, " the green and pink clad senshi said. "If it's a fight of electricity she wants, it's a fight of electricity she'll get. Jupiter- Oak Evolution!"

Instead of merely blocking the attack, this time the monster launched a counter attack very similar to Sailor Jupiter's own attack. The attacks clashed and the evil attack started to push back the good attack. The Senshi of Lightning mustered up her inner strength and gave all its energy to her attack, focusing on making it win out over her opponent's. The pushback stopped and now the two projectiles were back to clashing with each other in a battle for dominance.

"Got anything, Mercury?" Sailor Moon asked as her friend fervently typed away.

"Almost… got it! My… this is strange…?"

"Strange?" Sailor Venus questioned.

"Yes… this… being that we're facing… she seems to be some sort of higher being. From what I can tell, she's not naturally an evil one either, or at least that's what I'm guessing. There appears to be an extra part inside her that isn't normally there."

"Well we'd better do something fast," Sailor Venus said, concerned. "Jupiter is putting up a good fight, but the enemy looks too strong for her. If we wait too long, she'll get zapped by ALL of that electricity! Sailor Moon, do you think you'd be able to heal her without hurting her too bad?"

"Well, it worked for the last monsters, so I don't see why not…" the future queen responded. _Here goes nothing… please, let this work…_ she thought, closing her eyes and concentrating.

"Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!"

Despite her fighting prowess, the monster was so focused on her rivalry that she didn't notice the attack until the very last second. Breaking her concentration to quickly defend herself, her attack ended up losing to Sailor Jupiter's and she was subsequently hit, thus leaving her open to Sailor Moon's attack.

When the light from it subsided, she was floating there. A black comedy/tragedy mask was expelled from her body and floated up into the air before exploding into dust. Meanwhile, Sailor Jupiter collapsed on the ground. Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury went to tend to her, while Sailor Venus helped the now conscious again Sailor Mars to her feet. The group looked towards the creature that had been their enemy.

The being floated herself into and upright position and looked at the senshi.

"Sailor Guardians… thank you for saving me."

"What?! It can speak?!" Sailor Moon shouted.

"I am known as Bhanri, the Arcana of Thunder," the being continued.

"Arcana…?" Sailor Mercury inquired.

"Yes, an Arcana- a higher existence under Gods."

"How could you have possibly gotten under the control of an evil influence?" Sailor Mars asked.

"The most I can say is that this evil must be very powerful; otherwise, I do not know how I became its minion. However, that is not what matters right now. It is likely that this evil has plans for my twenty-two fellow Arcana. In order to combat them, you will need great strength. To help you in your quest and as thanks for freeing me from the clutches of evil, I shall bestow upon one of you a great power. She who controls thunder, step forward."

A bit surprised, the senshi in question stepped forward.

"Your determination and keen control in battle shows the mark of a true warrior," Bhanri continued. "For that, I bestow upon you the power to wield a sword of thunder like mine. So long as you remain proud and determined, you shall be able to call upon it whenever you wish. "

"But… I don't really have any formal sword training...," Sailor Jupiter muttered, slightly embarrassed.

"Do not worry about that. The sword shall guide you. You will have the capabilities of the best -trained warriors on this planet. Now, I must go. Good luck to all of you." With that, Bhanri disappeared.

"Woo! Yay Jupiter! You were always the toughest out of all of us, it's so fitting that you got an awesome sword to slice and dice the bad guys with!" Sailor Moon exclaimed.

"Yea, I guess," the tomboy chuckled.

"I don't mean to rain on the celebration, but it looks like it's definitive that we have a new enemy," Sailor Mercury cut in. "Bhanri told us that there are twenty-two others like her, which means we're in for a very long and difficult battle."

The group sighed.

"Looks like it…" Sailor Venus announced, pointing out what everyone was feeling- that break time was officially over…

A/N: Woo, all done! I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of my (hopefully) much better _Sailor Moon_ action fanfic. Please, please, PLEASE, remember to review! Reviews let me know what can be done better and encourage me to continue! ^_^


	2. Ch2: Oreichalkos, the Arcana of Metal

A/N: Hello, hello! I'm back with another chapter in the EPIC- ok, maybe I shouldn't give myself that much credit. Anyway, I'm back :P I'm not going to bombard all of you with another long author's note, so on with the fic!

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the characters or Arcana featured in this story.

Chapter 2: Oreichalkos, the Arcana of Metal

"The sea is in turmoil…" an aquamarine-haired woman said while floating in the swimming pool.

"Mmm… I feel they've already made their move, too, " her sandy-haired lover replied.

"Do you think the others are aware of what's going on?"

"Probably… it might be best to have a talk with them."

-Later, at the Hikawa Shrine-

"Twenty-two Arcanas… none of whom would do these things of their own volition… who or what could possibly be controlling beings so powerful?" Makoto pondered.

"I don't think that's an answer we'll be getting anytime soon," Artemis said. "For now we should just remain focused until more clues turn up."

Then, a masculine yet still female voice called out from the partially open door. "Mind if we join in?"

"Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna, Hotaru!" Usagi exclaimed.

"It's nice to see all of you," Setsuna said with a smile. "However, we're not here to simply gossip, I'm afraid," she continued, her face turning serious.

The quartet sat down with the others.

"Given the discussion we walked in on, it would appear the unsettling feeling I had was not without reason, " Michuru said solemnly. "Have you all encountered the enemy already?"

"Yes, " Ami replied. She proceeded to explain their encounter with Bhanri and what little the Arcana was able to warn them of.

"Looks like-" Haruka started, before a crash boomed just outside the Hikawa Shrine. The group ran out to see what caused the crash. Their eyes fell upon a dragon-looking creature made completely out of metal spikes, complete with sharp, pointed fangs. It let out a roar and looked straight at them with its glowing yellow eyes bearing the expression of a predator that had just found its prey.

"Everyone, transform!" Minako shouted.

"Venus Crystal Power, Make-up!"

"Mars Crystal Power, Make-up!"

"Mercury Crystal Power, Make-up!"

"Jupiter Crystal Power, Make-up!"

"Uranus Crystal Power, Make-up!"

"Neptune Crystal Power, Make-up!"

"Pluto Crystal Power, Make-up!"

"Saturn Crystal Power, Make-up!"

"Moon Eternal, Make-up!"

"Alright, I'll slice this thing down quickly with my new technique," Sailor Jupiter said with determination. "Bhanri, I ask for your assistance! Please, lend me your powers so that I may create a sword of thunder to strike down my enemies!"

Upon hearing the sailor warrior's call, a silhouette of Bhanri, the Arcana of Thunder, appeared. A large sword made of thunder grew in Sailor Jupiter's hands. Once fully formed, she wasted no time in jumping at the metal creature, preparing to slice it down the middle. In the middle of her jump, a sword appeared mid-air in front of her. As she went to slash at it, the sword moved behind her and made nasty slash across her back, knocking her out of the sky in pain.

"Agh!" she screamed as she hit the ground. She was bleeding badly.

"Sailor Jupiter!" her comrades shouted. The Inner Senshi rushed over to her while the Outer Senshi set their sights on revenge.

"World Shaking!"

The attack hit the creature, but it didn't seem to have much effect. The metal dragon summoned an array of swords and started shooting them at the senshi. Sailor Mercury dragged her fallen friend out of the way as quickly as she could, while the others did their best to dodge each shot. Venus and Saturn got clipped in the process, but recovered quickly.

"Deep Submerge!"

The twisted Arcana managed to put a shield out in front of itself before getting hit. Although this protected it, it also gave its opponents the key to defeating it.

"Look," Sailor Neptune started, "the metal completely rusted. It looks like being a heavenly creature doesn't protect it from physics," she finished with a giggle. "Mercury, you and I need to use our water based attacks to take down the enemy. The rest of you, distract him."

"Got it!" the group shouted in unison.

"Venus- Love and Beauty Shock!"

Again, the attack had no effect, not that it mattered. The Senshi of Love dodged the spiked tail aiming for her while the elegant Outer Senshi attacked a second time. The monster wailed as part of its body turned to rust instantaneously and started to rampage, consequently knocking the group of heroines all over the place.

"Mercury- Aqua Rhapsody!"

The Arcana recoiled, immediately halted in its charge back. At this point, more than half of its gigantic body was covered in rust and it was struggling to see now that its face had been rusted over.

"Now's your chance, Sailor Moon!" Sailor Mars yelled to her teammate.

Sailor Moon nodded. "Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!"

Unable to move out of the way fast enough, the metal dragon was hit and was purified by the attack, the black comedy/tragedy mask expelling from his body, floating up in the air, and exploding into dust. The Sailor Senshi wasted no time in going back to their injured friend, who had just regained consciousness.

"Jupiter, are you okay?" the winged senshi asked, slightly teary-eyed.

"I don't know about okay, but I'll make it through," Jupiter responded with a wink and short laugh.

"Sailor Guardians… thank you for saving me," the newly healed Arcana said with a slight bow of its head.

"No problem…" Sailor Uranus acknowledged.

"I, Oreichalkos, the Arcana of Metal, apologize for my wrong doings while I was in that horribly menacing state. Unfortunately, I have no idea how it came to be in the first place. Normally, I am not like that. I shall leave you be from now on. Again, thank you." With that, Oreichalkos disappeared.

"Wait… Wait, am I missing something here? Isn't one of us supposed to get a new power?" Sailor Venus pouted, utterly confused and disappointed.

"Right now, that shouldn't be our concern. We need to get Jupiter medical attention, " Sailor Pluto reminded the blonde.

"Eek, sorry," Venus blushed while rubbing her head in embarrassment.

-Scene Change-

"Sailor senshi…. What a nuisance." A dark figure muttered in a shadowy purple and black room filled with sinister looking marionettes.

A/N: Alright, this chapter took awhile, but I'm overall proud of the result. I hope you all enjoyed. Until next time! ^_^


	3. Chapter 3: Saligrama, the Arcana of Luck

A/N: Hello again, everyone! I seem to have been struggling with writing dynamic dialogue in the action scenes, so my apologies if those scenes (which are unfortunately the bulk of each chapter) bored you guys. Hopefully, there's a noticeable difference this time around. On with the story!

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all related properties belong to Naoko Takeuchi and Toei Animation. I do, however, own the rights to the character-of-the-day, Shichirou, so please ask my permission if you plan on using him in any of your own stories (although why you'd want to use a character who serves no purpose other than chapter plot is beyond me).

Chapter 3: Saligrama, the Arcana of Luck

Shichirou, age 38, currently sat at his favorite slot machine, martini in hand, in his favorite casino downtown in the Juuban District. Like he did on every Friday night, he was trying to hit the jackpot so he could get out of his thankless job that barely paid enough for him to get by. It's not like he had much chance of moving up the corporate ladder- he was one of the least educated people there and far from the best looking guy to boot. A scrawny, near-middle aged man with greasy, mousey brown hair, shit-brown eyes, and chronic dry skin wasn't exactly appealing to most people. He didn't have much in the way of fashion sense either, wearing cheap suits (not that he could afford better) with putrid colors such as avocado green and mustard yellow. It had occurred to him to get another job, but he figured no one would want to hire a loser like him. Thus, in his eyes, this was the only feasible way out.

Unfortunately, he was about 10,000 yen in the hole and things weren't looking up. He finished his third martini and beckoned for one of the waitresses to get him another. If you can't win, get drunk, right? Sighing heavily, he put more money into the slot machine and gave it another go. No luck. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around expecting to find the waitress, only to find a young looking woman with long dark blue hair and skin, red eyes, and a black and white dress with a dice design on the hem.

"Hello there," the woman said.

Baffled and thinking he must be drunk, Shichirou hesitated before responding- "H…hi."

"Having some bad luck, huh?" the… thing asked, oddly cheery.

"You could say that," he grimaced.

"I know of something that could help with that."

"Yeah? " he snorted, not one to believe in good luck charms. "Just what would that be?"

The woman pulled a small red and blue dye from her pocket and presented it to the near middle-aged man.

"A dye? THAT'S supposed to help me? I've lost more money with dice than I've ever gained."

"Trust me. From the moment you take this dye from my hand, your luck will change instantly. You could win millions!"

Shichirou was pretty desperate. With the money he lost today, he wasn't even sure he could pay his bills. Normally, he'd call poppycock at good luck charms, but something about this young woman made him want to believe her. Maybe it was the weird coloring and the fact that she didn't seem entirely human. He decided not to worry about it and take her up on her offer.

"This… doesn't cost me anything, right? I'm not exactly flush with cash right now."

She giggled. "No, not a thing. Enjoy!" With that, she left.

Shichirou put the supposedly lucky dye in his pocket and continued his gambling, eyes in a trance….

The following morning, Luna was watching the news as per her usual routine.

"Now onto our top story of today, 'Dye of Destruction', the mysterious little dye that's causing some not-so-little problems for people across Japan. According to first hand accounts, this red and blue dye was given to its victims by an alien looking woman who promised them good luck if they chose to take the dye from her hand. While they were first met with riches and fame, on the seventh day they lost it all, plunging into debt, losing admirers, and even being deserted by loved ones. This may sound like something ripped straight from a cautionary tale found in a horror novel, but victims swear they are telling the truth. Is this just an excuse made to cover for one's poor decision making or could there truly be a cursed dye, even multiple cursed dice, out there? Join us for a debate on this topic tonight at 11."

Luna turned the tv off, a solemn expression on her face. "Sounds like the work of our enemies…"

Usagi, Ami, Rei, Makoto, and Minako were walking home from school together, chatting jovially when they came across a man huddled on the street, looking disheveled and shaking uncontrollably. Concerned for his well-being, Usagi knelt down and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Hey… are you okay? You're shaking pretty bad."

"Gone… it's all gone…" the man babbled.

"What's gone?" Minako questioned.

"Everything… My life is ruined!"

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Usagi asked.

The distraught man looked up at the pig-tailed girl, his brown eyes bloodshot and crazed. "The dye… destroy the dye… DESTROY THE DYE!"

The girls jumped back a little at his sudden shouting.

"What dye could he possibly be talking about?" Makoto pondered.

"I have no clue, but I doubt we'll be getting any answers out of him given his current condition," Ami said.

"Girls! Girls!"

The group looked to see the source of the noise and saw Luna running towards them in a panic.

"I'm so glad I found you," she said. "I have very urgent news concerning our enemy. I feel they are up to a new plot."

"It wouldn't have anything to do with dyes, would it?" Rei inquired almost rhetorically.

"Yes," the black cat started. "There seems to be a young woman going around giving dice to people that ruins their lives. They are initially met with fame and fortune, but then everything falls to pieces. Given her strange description and the nature of the incident, I have no doubt in my mind that this is not mere coincidence, but the work of our enemy. We need to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity."

The senshi nodded in agreement. As if on cue, Rei sensed an evil presence in the area. "Looks like we won't have to be on the lookout very long…."

The others looked to what she was staring at. It was a strange, inhuman looking woman handing a dye over to a depressed looking man. Acting quickly, the Shinto priestess ran over to them and smacked the dye out of the woman's hand.

"Don't take that dye," she warned the man. "It will only lead to pain in the end!"

"Oh, looks like the fun is over…" the woman pouted.

She proceeded to float up in the air in a blinding white light. When the light faded, there were no traces of the woman who had been cloaked in it. Instead, floating in the air was a mechanical device with a large white ring encompassing three-fourths of the outer part of it; half of the ring was adorned with red diamonds on each of its white spokes that varied in size, while the other half consisted of smaller white spikes all even in size and with black pearls. Connected to this through small white spikes with giant red gems at the end was a smaller circle, more than half of which looked like the white half of the larger one, the smaller part consisting of black diamonds. On either end of the smaller circle were two gigantic red gems, connected with a metal rod. Attached to them was the rest of the outer part of the device, a black mass with sunset orange lines making a network with off-white orbs as connecting pieces; finishing off, there were six white points for ends of varying sizes, each with black pearls on them. In the center of the device was a large blue and red dye partially protected by a black outer shell with orange circuitry that had holes in various places like an unfinished puzzle.

"Quickly, Sailor Senshi, transform!" Luna shouted.

"Mars Crystal Power, Make-up!"

"Venus Crystal Power, Make-up!"

"Jupiter Crystal Power, Make-up!"

"Mercury Crystal Power, Make-up!"

"Moon Eternal, Make-up!"

"Leave it to me! I'll finish this quickly by striking it at its core!" Sailor Mars boomed with confidence. "Mars- Flame Sniper!"

The Senshi of Fire didn't miss her mark, her arrow piercing its target. The dye turned a few times engulfed in fire while the circles spun to the right. Suddenly, the dye shook erratically and flung Sailor Mars' attack right back at her, striking her in the chest and flinging her back a few feet.

"What just happened?!" Sailor Venus yelled. "It was a direct hit!"

"I don't know, but I'm gonna make sure it won't happen again," Sailor Jupiter said. "Bhanri, I ask for you assistance! Please, lend me your powers so that I may create a sword of thunder to strike down my enemies!"

Sailor Jupiter lunged at the floating device, sword aimed at its "heart". Electricity surged throughout the device and it fell from the skies, crashing on the ground while its attacker landed gracefully.

"Yea, I did it!" she proclaimed.

However, the device wasn't done just yet. It shot a bunch of large dice out from the center, each one coming up as one upon completion of their rolling. They glowed white for a second before exploding, catching the heroines in the blasts and causing them to slam into buildings and the hard, concrete road. When the dust lifted, the senshi could be seen scattered all over the place, struggling to get up.

Just as the enemy was preparing for another attack, it was again struck at its core, this time by a red rose.

"Tuxedo Kamen!" Sailor Moon shouted with glee.

"You may toy with Lady Luck, but in the end she shall never bestow her grace upon evil. Your luck has run out! Now, Sailor Moon!"

"Right!"

"Wait!" Sailor Mercury quickly shouted. "The circles are moving again, watch out!"

From the dye, a whirlwind of flower petals was directed at Tuxedo Kamen, who nearly fell off the top of the building trying to hold his ground.

Sailor Mercury picked up a rock and threw it at the dye. Just as with Sailor Mars and Tuxedo Kamen's attacks, it was flung back at her, though she dodged in time. She repeated the process thrice; the first time, the rock was flung back at her, the second time, it wasn't and the final time, it was. "Careful, Sailor Moon. If that device flings your attack back at you, it could possibly kill one or all of us. You must do it at the right time."

"When would that be? Is there some sort of pattern?" the blue-haired senshi's comrade inquired.

Sailor Mercury gave a slight frown. "Unfortunately, no. The dye symbolizes the nature of the being. Whether an attack is thrown back at us or not is completely based on luck- it has no pattern. You just have to have faith that luck is on your side when you decide to attack."

Sailor Moon nodded in response, a bit nervous. Their fate was now resting solely on her ability to pick the right time to attack; if she picked wrong, it could spell the end for them all.

"Hey… I know you can do it, " Sailor Venus reassured her with a wink.

The device flung hundreds of tiny dice at senshi all at once.

"Venus- Love and Beauty Shock!"

"Jupiter- Oak Evolution!"

Sailor Venus and Jupiter's attacks destroyed the dice. The winged senshi readied her Final Tiare. She didn't necessarily know for a fact that it was going to work, but she had to go on feelings this time; and it felt right.

_Please let this work_... she thought, breathing deeply.

"Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!"

Thankfully, Lady Luck was on her side. The device was purified, the black comedy expelling from its body, floating up in the air, and exploding into dust. Venus, Mars, Mercury, Tuxedo Kamen, and Luna gathered around Sailor Moon and congratulated her before turning their attention to the now good device.

"I, Saligrama, the Arcana of Luck, thank you, Sailor Guardians for stopping all the bad luck I was causing while under the influence of whatever spell was controlling me. May Lady Luck always shine upon you." With that, Saligrama disappeared.

"Yay! Good luck for life!" Sailor Moon exclaimed.

"I don't think that's what it meant…" Sailor Jupiter chuckled.

"One can always hope, right?" Sailor Mercury chimed in.

"Well, I guess that would be a good thing considering the number of years you have to make up for breaking all of those mirrors," Sailor Mars teased.

"Don't try to spoil it for me, Rei!" the pig-tailed blonde retorted, sticking her tongue out. In typical fashion, the raven-haired girl did the same in turn. The rest of the group rolled their eyes and laughed, expecting nothing less of the two.

In a shadowy purple and black room, filled with sinister looking marionettes, a figure shrouded in darkness chuckled. "You better hope for your sake that Lady Luck does shine upon you, Sailor Senshi, for today was just a taste of the chaos I plan to bring to this planet…"

A/N: Ermahgerd, just one week and I update! With luck, this will become a trend. Please, remember to leave a review detailing your thoughts on the chapter and the story as a whole so far. It is always much appreciated! ^_^ Until next time!


	4. Chapter 4: Lang-Gong, the Arcana of Fire

A/N: Hello, hello! I am back after a two-month absence with another chapter in this series that hopefully gets more reviews at some point :P I've been feeling particularly inspired lately, so perhaps this means that my updates will be more frequent. I'm not going to spend much time on this, so let's get on with it already!

Disclaimer: Takeuchi-san and Toei Animation own the rights to this wonderful series, not I (but damn is it fun to come up with my own arcs for it!).

Chapter 4: Lang-Gong, the Arcana of Fire

Rei sat in front of the fire in the Hikawa Shrine as she had been for hours, desperately seeking answers or even slight clues as to who the new enemy was and what it was after. This had become a nightly occurrence, and with each night she gained more doubts in her clairvoyant abilities instead of what she was looking for.

"Rin, Pyo, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen! Please, I beg of you, give me the answers I'm looking for!" Rei shouted.

Alas, once again the fire showed nothing.

"Why…? Why can't I see…?" Rei muttered morosely.

The Shinto priestess just didn't understand. She could always count on her abilities before when she called upon them and sometimes even when she didn't, like with her visions involving the Death Busters. Now she couldn't even get a read as to the appearance of even an insignificant member of the enemy's organization. Did she really lose her powers as a priestess...?

Rei perseverated about it all throughout school the following day. Unable to remain focused in class, she was uncharacteristically scolded by her teachers for not paying attention. One teacher, worried about her generally good student, even offered to give her a pass to go to the school counselor's office to discuss what might be troubling her. Not wanting her outside distraction to be a bother, Rei apologized and told the teacher she was just feeling a little under the weather and would do her best to maintain focus.

That night, the raven-haired teen tried yet again to gain information about the enemy through the use of her powers, but unfortunately, her efforts proved futile. Already worn down from previous nights, she couldn't find the strength to continue for hours on end. She retired, her mind filled with doubts that plagued her throughout the night, making it difficult for her to sleep.

The next day at the weekly study session, her friends noticed her exhaustion.

"Rei, it's unlike you to be dozing off like Usagi. Did you not get a good night's rest?" Ami questioned, earning her a glare from her pig-tailed friend.

Rei chuckled nervously. "Yea, you could say that."

"What kept you up?" Minako asked.

"Just… school stuff- homework and studying, that sort of thing," the raven-hair girl replied, trying to avoid her friends' line of questioning.

Makoto popped a suspicious eyebrow. "Nu-uh. You're a good student and you're good at time management. I don't believe that's the actual reason you were having trouble sleeping last night. What's the REAL reason you couldn't catch some Z's?"

Rei remained silent, looking down with shadowed eyes.

"C'mon, Rei… Tell us," Minako said, nudging her depressed friend.

"Yea, you know we won't judge if something is really bothering you," Usagi added.

With a heavy sigh, the normally feisty girl explained. "I can't get an idea of who the enemy is or what it's up to. I've stayed up multiple nights trying to find something out, but I can't see anything when I look into the fire and I'm not having any visions either. It's as if my powers have just… stopped working. I don't know why either and it's bothering me to the point where it's affecting every aspect of my life. I'm even worried that my abilities as a soldier are compromised as well."

"Rei…" Makoto said, putting a comforting hand on her saddened friend's back. The others huddled joined the brown-haired girl to comfort their friend.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Minako noticed a bright orange circle shining through the semi-translucent blinds. "I didn't think it was so late that the sun would be setting already…"

"It's only 4 P.M." Ami said confused, looking at her wristwatch.

"That doesn't look like the sun to me, it looks like…" Makoto started.

"Flames! Something is on fire!" Rei shouted.

The group rushed outside to see what was set ablaze. Floating above the burning tree was a large wolf with fur made completely out of flames, a billowing tail to match its majestic flame fur, a horn on its head, large fire wings floating just above but not touching its back, and a ring of fire with the slightest of gaps below it.

"This must be another mind-controlled Arcana! Everyone, transform!" Minako shouted.

"Venus Crystal Power, Make-up!"

"Jupiter Crystal Power, Make-up!"

"Mercury Crystal Power, Make-up!"

"Mars Crystal Power, Make-up!"

"Moon Eternal, Make-up!"

"Mercury- Aqua Rhapsody!"

The wolf avoided getting doused by the blue senshi's water attack with ease and grace, then proceeded to summon three large balls of fire and fired them at the Sailor Guardians. They hit the ground like bombs, with the heroines dodging the impact, releasing flames that covered a decent-sized area around them that caught its unaware enemies.

"Mars- Flame Sniper!"

Sailor Mars retaliated quickly, but, still suffering from confidence issues, was unable to put resolve behind her attack and it was easily beaten by the blast of fire the Arcana shot back, resulting in her getting hit by the powerful enemy heat.

"Sailor Mars!" the group shouted, running to their injured comrade.

"Jupiter- Oak Evolution!"

Once again, the wolf proved itself nimble and got around the orbs of lightning and nature with ease. It took high to the skies and performed a dance, its ring of fire dancing along with it, raining hundreds of flames down on the senshi and temple grounds.

"Oh no! At this rate, the shrine will be nothing but ashes!" Sailor Mars cried frantically, while simultaneously trying to dodge the flames being showered upon them, receiving some in the process. "Mercury, can you try using your powers to take care of this."

The blue-haired soldier nodded and got to work on her requested task.

"What are we supposed to do to catch this thing?" Sailor Moon asked, frustrated.

"Let's see if it can avoid getting wrapped in a chain of love and justice!" Sailor Venus exclaimed. "Venus Love-Me Chain!"

With expert maneuvering, she captured the Arcana just as planned. "Now, Sailo- AHH!"

Unfortunately, her target sent a concentrated line of fire down the chain it was entwined in, scorching the Senshi of Love's hands and part of her upper arms, causing her to fall over in pain.

"Sailor Venus!" Sailor Moon shouted.

"Dammit, what now?!" Sailor Jupiter angrily shouted.

"I can't get rid of the flames, either," Sailor Mercury said.

Seeing all the calamity around her and feeling powerless to even help stop any of it, Sailor Mars sunk into her own consciousness, losing the will to fight.

_Maybe if I saw this coming, we would've been able to form a strategy to counteract it before it got this bad. I'm not even useful in battle anymore… It's just as I thought… I can't protect anyone from upcoming events nor can I protect them from what I see happening right before my non-clairvoyant eyes…_

Meanwhile, in a moment of desperation, Sailor Moon tried to pull out her Eternal Tier to use her lengthy but finishing attack. However, the fire creature noticed this motion and swiftly blasted her before she could do anything. Hearing her friend and princess cry out in pain, Sailor Mars snapped out of her own thoughts and ran over to her.

"Sailor Moon, are you okay?!"

"I'll be fine," the future queen replied. "I know you're having a hard time yourself, so stop worrying about me. Me and the other girls will protect you, just don't let all of this clairvoyance stuff get to you. The Mars I know has a strong will, a really strong one; so I know you can get past this and come out even stronger than you were before. Just let us help in the meantime, ok?" Sailor Moon finished with a warm smile and headed back into battle.

The Senshi of Fire stood there processing what her teammate had to say. "Willpower…" she whispered to herself.

"AHH!"

"UGH!"

"AHH"

Once again, Sailor Mars was torn from her thoughts as her friends, who were doing their best without her, fell to the ground having been burned by the fiery opposition. Making up her mind not to back down, she glared at her opponent with newfound determination, the determination of someone who knew exactly who she was, regardless of whether she still had her clairvoyance or not… The strong-willed Soldier of Fire and Passion, Sailor Mars!

"I may have lost before, but not I won't lose this time! My flames of justice and purification will win and your flames of destruction will sizzle out! In the name of Mars, I will chastise you!"

Mustering up all her inner strength, she readied her flaming weapon and shouted, "Mars- Flame Sniper!"

Faster than it ever had before it flew, striking the wolf in the chest, making it howl and whine as it started to go limp in the air.

"Now, Sailor Moon!" Sailor Mars directed.

Sailor Moon nodded and readied her Eternal Tier again.

"Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!"

The flaming wolf was engulfed in the attack and purified, the black comedy/tragedy mask expelling from its body, floating up into the air, and exploding into dust. The flames that were not moments ago burning the temple grounds vanished. In a graceful, dignified manner, the now cured Arcana raised its head up and cast its eyes upon the senshi.

"Heroines who bravely faced the intensity of the fire of Lang-Gong, I thank you for saving me," he said before focusing his gaze on the senshi clad in red and purple. "In particular, I thank you, the fellow fire user whose flaming arrow burning with passion and determination stopped my tyranny long enough for your comrade's purification spell to release me from the wicked spell I was under. For that, I grant you a new power to wield. So long as you maintain that remarkable willpower you demonstrated today, you will be able to soar like a phoenix rising from the ashes."

For a brief second, Sailor Mars' heels glowed a bright red.

"Now, I must be going. I bid you all adieu."

The senshi waved as Lang-Gong disappeared in smoke.

"Now we have two on our team with new powers," Sailor Venus said. "I wonder who will be next?"

"I'd love to ponder that with you, Venus, but right now, I'm a tad more focused on how Grandpa and I are going to get the money for the repairs on the shrine…" Sailor Mars replied, sighing as she looked at the fire damaged temple.

The group gave a heavy sigh, knowing they would likely be the ones doing all the reparations.

A/N: Man, it feels good to get this chapter out! It had been stewing in my head for quite some time before I finally got down to writing it :P Please don't forget to review, I really appreciate those! I shall see you all in Chapter 5!


	5. Chapter 5: Niptra, the Arcana of Water

A/N: Look who's back after over a year! I'm finally back to being in the mood to right though; I feel my creativity flowing. Not going to bore you guys with this stuff though, so on with the fic!

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Sailor Moon, I just write these stories for the enjoyment of myself and others.

Chapter 5: Niptra, the Arcana of Water

Michiru sat on the beach, surrounded by people enjoying the nice weather and cool, sea breeze. Happiness on all of their faces, they were blissfully ignorant of the change in the seas. The aquamarine-haired woman's face was quite the opposite however, as she knew the waves of the sea were turbulent despite their appearance. Lost in her troubled thoughts, she barely noticed the loving hand gripping her shoulder that brought her out of her trance.

"Haruka…"

The tomboy gazed into her eyes, knowing all too well what was going through her mind.

"The winds are picking up lately…."

"The seas are violent as well," Michiru said. "We need to be on the watch at the art showing tonight.

Haruka silently agreed and held her lover in a tight embrace.

The art gala was going swimmingly. Despite all the unrest they were feeling, Haruka and Michiru remained professional, elegantly making their way through the vast showing area arm in arm, mingling with the art enthusiasts and potential buyers for Michiru's painting, which was the main feature of the night. It was attracting quite a bit of attention with its depiction of a serene sea sparkling in the sun, whirlpools looming in the depths at different heights, appearing as though they are waiting to strike. The contrast garnered a variety of emotions from onlookers, yet they couldn't help but stare at its odd beauty.

"Painting your emotions again?" Haruka quietly asked her lover.

Michiru gave a small smile. "All was peaceful for so long, but the night before the new enemy showed up, the night I painted this… I was overwhelmed by this sense of foreboding. The seas were warning me of the impending threat."

Haruka gripped her lover tightly, a stern look on her face.

"Hey, why is there water coming through the windows?"

The lovers looked to the source of the voice, danger senses tingling. Suddenly, water burst through the tall windows facing the courtyard of the art gallery. People scrambled to get out of the way with some unfortunate enough to be slammed into the walls and various other objects by the strong waves. A guttural, watery wail was followed by a gigantic, blue, whale like monster with bull horns on its head. Ornate, golden pieces of armor adorned its back and neck, jutting upwards from where its cheekbones would be, matching the golden tips of its frayed fins.

Lucky for the two Outer Senshi, they dodged the onslaught of water.

"Neptune Crystal Power, Make-Up!"

"Uranus Crystal Power, Make-Up!"

"World Shaking!"

The blast from Sailor Uranus hit its target, causing it to reel back a bit in the air in which it was floating.

"Invited by the new age, the magnificent Sailor Uranus!"

"Likewise, the elegant Sailor Neptune!"

The creature responded to their speeches with another wail before diving right at them. They expertly dodged, retaliating with kicks from each side to their attacker's abdomen.

"Deep Submerge!"

Shocking, the creature just opened its mouth wide and swallowed Sailor Neptune's attack. "What?!" she gasped.

The whale-esque thing blasted a powerful fountain of water from its mouth, hitting Sailor Neptune and sending her crashing into a rather large stone statue. Sailor Uranus dived at it with her Space Sword, aiming for the exposed top of its head, but it reacted quickly and knocked her away with the side of its right horn. With another wail, it started spinning around; water formed underneath, swirling in tune with it and creating a whirlpool. The whirlpool rose up and started to expand around the creature summoning it while creating a vacuum effect that was lifting up nearby objects and making them part of it.

"It's going to bring the entire building into that whirlpool, along with us!" Uranus grunted.

"We have to try and stop it before it gets any worse!" Neptune responded.

"World Shaking!"

"Deep Submerge!"

The pair's attacks unfortunately succeeded at nothing aside from breaking the furniture and multitude of other objects that had been sucked into the whirlpool. Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune considered all of their seemingly available options carefully, but unfortunately none of them would stop the disaster their gigantic opponent was about to cause. At best, all they could manage was maneuvering around the whirlpool and dodging the things that were getting sucked into it.

_Damn it… what are we supposed to do?_ Thought Uranus.

"Bubble Spray Freezing!"

The whirlpool was slowed by the freezing mist, as was the being creating it.

"Jupiter- Oak Evolution!"

The orbs of lightning were flung into the whirlpool, but due to its decreased speed, fought through and engulfed the large whale in electricity, causing it to cry out. As well, the whirlpool vanished.

"Sorry we're late," Sailor Mars winked. "A certain _someone _caused us to be late," she finished, eyeing her winged comrade, who muttered something unintelligible.

"_Anyway_… For love and justice, the pretty soldier in the sailor suit, Sailor Moon, has arrived! In the name of the moon, I shall punish you!"

"We shall also punish you- Sailor Venus!"

"Sailor Jupiter!"

"Sailor Mars!"

"Sailor Mercury!"

Post all the speeches, the enemy recovered from its onslaught. Wailing perhaps louder than ever before, it spurt forth a huge pillar of water directly from its mouth at the Inner Senshi, who just barely managed to dodge. The water completely destroyed the panels of large windows behind them, creating a dangerous opening as they were stationed on the fourth floor of the high rise building.

"Venus- Love and Beauty, Shock!"

Much as it did with Sailor Neptune's attack, the creature swallowed Sailor Venus' attack whole, taking no damage while doing so.

"Mars- Flame Sniper!" Again, no luck.

"We're getting nowhere!" Sailor Jupiter groaned in frustration.

Sailor Mercury hit one of her earrings, activating her computerized visor and took out her mini computer that went with it. As nothing had been working unless the whale was unaware of the presence of those around it, another way to bring it down needed to be found. However, the whale wasn't going to just sit there and let itself get analyzed. It summoned large orbs of water, one for each of the five senshi in front of it, and flung the orbs at them. Sailors Mars, Jupiter, and Venus all got out of the way in time, but Mercury and Moon didn't- or rather, they would not have had Uranus and Neptune not pushed them out of the way, getting caught themselves in the process.

"Uranus, Neptune!" Sailor Moon cried out.

"It's ok, we're not drowning," Sailor Neptune reassured her.

"We have to get you guys out of there," Sailor Jupiter said.

"Don't worry about us, just focus on the enemy," Sailor Uranus ordered. The others hesitantly nodded.

"We'll just have to keep it attacking us while Mercury analyzes," Sailor Venus said.

"Venus Love Me Chain!"

As expected, the enormous sea creature broke free without much trouble, but the purpose wasn't actually to entrap it, merely to distract it, which was indeed accomplished. It set its sight on the Senshi of Love in particular, sending a tidal wave towards her, which she got hit by. Sailor Moon the jumped at it, getting knocked away with a violent swing of the whale's tail.

"Rin, Pyo, Toh, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen- Akuryo Taisan!"

The sea creature ingested the enchanted scroll much as it did the other attacks. However, it did indeed suffer ill effects this time. It started swaying around slowly, almost as if it were dizzy and trying to shake it off.

"Got it!" Sailor Mercury exclaimed. "The creature's peripheral vision is poor and it has an inability to focus on multiple things at once. Additionally, its vision vertically is stunted and this combined with its head ornaments prevent it from seeing upwards. Mars, use your new power to lift Jupiter up above it, where she can use her sword to strike its back. We'll distract it down here."

The Sailor Team immediately went to action.

"Venus- Love and Beauty Shock!"

"Mercury- Aqua Rhapsody!"

In the time it took the creature to eat these attacks, Sailor Mars ignited her heels with large, fiery wings, allowing her to gain flight. She hovered over to Jupiter, who had her sword of thunder at the ready, and lifted her, the pair making their way towards the space above the whale. Just as planned, the creature didn't notice them, too focused on those in front of it and unable to see anything above it. When they got to the apex above the center of its back, the Soldier of Fire dropped the Soldier of Thunder down, with the latter pointing her sword downwards in a precision strike. Their target howled as the electricity coursed through its body, flinging Sailor Jupiter off as it flailed around violently. Thankfully, Sailor Mars managed to catch her before she was smacked into the wall.

"Now, Sailor Moon!" Sailor Uranus shouted.

"Right!" the pigtailed Senshi responded. "Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss!"

The black comedy/tragedy mask, much like with its predecessors, was expelled from the whale's body and floated up to explode into dust. The orbs that had entrapped Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune also disappeared. The formerly trapped Senshi, gracefully landed on their feet, of course.

"Those who bravely faced the great power of the sea, controlled by none other than I, Niptra, Arcana of Water, I thank you for saving me. I noticed in my altered state that there is one among you who also has control over the sea. Please, she who I speak of, step forth." Sailor Neptune elegantly did so.

"I grant you the power to create whirlpools nearly on the scale of those I summon to ensnare your enemies. So long as your strong bond with the sea remains, you shall have access to this power."

Sailor Neptune felt a cool tingling sensation on her hands.

"I now bid you all farewell," Niptra finished, before flying into submerging itself in a circle of water and disappearing.

The Senshi of the Skies walked up to embrace her lover, who gave her a small smile in return.

Everyone was silent for a few moments admiring the two, before Sailor Moon broke the silence.

"So… this wreckage is kind of becoming a thing, isn't it?"

The others looked around the formerly gorgeous art gala, now an absolute mess after the battle and let out heavy sighs.

A/N: Like, oh my gosh, I finally finished this! I hope you all enjoyed (with luck, some of you who had read the previous chapters as they were updated actually did keep this story subscribed)! Until next time (which hopefully doesn't take so long)! ^_^


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